The Aftermath
by Kuro Anei
Summary: Ningenkai has been totally destroyed. Kurama and Hiei are on the run, fighting for their lives. Now they have to place their trust with an attractive demoness while trying to accept the consequences of their actions in the last battle.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, yet. But eventually I will break free from my human host and I will bring all of Ningenkai to its knees with my power and I will own whatever I please.

Chapter 1

Hiei stared into the fire, waiting patiently for Kurama to get back. It had been three days since the kitsune had taken off, but that wasn't unusual. Bored with the flames, Hiei lay back and stared into the sky instead. He sensed a demon's energy nearby, but recognized it as Kurama's and relaxed. When Kurama walked up, it looked as though Hiei was totally unaware that he was there, but Kurama knew better. He smiled and sat down next to his friend.

"I found a new benefactor," he said softly.

"That is what you set out to do, so I would imagine you succeeded," Hiei said dryly.

"You'll like her. She's gorgeous."

"Am I talking to Youko, or Kurama?"

"Both."

"Fine… does Gorgeous have a name? And a place for us to stay?"

"Naturally. Her name is Kiri. I told her I'd be back before sunrise."

"You left her alone tonight? Shame on you, I thought you were a gentleman."

"She works nights."

"Oh really? As what?"

"A barmaid."

"Your taste is amazing…" Hiei said sarcastically.

"Hey, she's got a place where we can lay low for awhile."

"Fine, beggars can't be choosers I guess. Where's her place?"

"Near the bar where she works."

"Wait, it's actually in a village???" Hiei exclaimed, sitting up fast.

"It's the best I could do."

"Wait, since you met her, that means you were in the village!" Hiei cried. Kurama nodded. "KURAMA! We're supposed to be laying low! What the hell were you doing going to a bar in broad daylight???" he exclaimed.

"Look, I didn't want to, but there's no one out here in the wilderness that's willing to help us. Besides, the assassin squads will never suspect that we'd hide out in a village for a while. So we'll just lay low there for a month or two until the fuss dies down, then we'll take off again."

"There's a reason that they think we won't hide in villages."

"Yes, they figure no one will take us in. They reckon without the skills of the great Youko Kurama."

"That, and they have spies and squealers in every town. We'll have to be extra careful, you know that don't you?"

"Of course I do. But we're wearing down from being on the run like this. We need a break or we'll get caught and be too worn down to fight our way out."

"You're right, I guess…" Hiei said with a sigh. "Okay, let's go meet your new lady friend." He stood up, extinguishing the fire as he did so.

They walked in silence for a while, keeping to the cover of the trees. As they approached the village, Kurama cleared his throat.

"Hiei… do you… do you think… do you think there's even a chance… that any of them…?"

"No," Hiei said flatly.

"Have you checked?"

"There's no point."

"But…"

"No."

"Just check. Once. It can't hurt."

"Fine, I'll make sure when we get to your friend's house, but don't ask me again."

"Thank you."

"Don't see what you're worried about anyways… you already made sure that your mom…"

"Don't talk about that, please," Kurama said. His voice was strange. Not angry exactly, and not sad, but some strange mixture of the two. Hiei started to make a smart remark, but he held his tongue. Even he knew better than to talk about that…

They ended up in front of a demon version of a nightclub. Music blared from inside and several drunken demons lounged around outside the doors. One of them grabbed Kurama's arm.

"Hey there, sexy," he growled. Kurama froze. Hiei had no hesitation however, and he drew his sword

"Get your slimy claws off him," he snarled.

"Protective little bugger, ain't 'cha?" the demon leered. Although the demon was at least two feet taller than him, Hiei stood his ground.

"I said, let go of him. Don't make me tell you again," Hiei growled.

"He must be one special little bitch for you to keep such a tight leash on him," the demon said, shoving Kurama towards Hiei. Obviously he planned on having the two demons tumble to the ground and end up in a highly suggestive position, but Kurama caught his balance quickly, with only a minimal amount of help from Hiei, and the two demons ended up standing side-by-side and glaring coldly at the laughing group of demons.

"They're not worth it," Kurama muttered under his breath. Hiei's head inclined a mere fraction of an inch to show that he agreed. And, as one, the pair turned and walked into the club. They sat down at the bar and were promptly served by a cute little thing with long blonde hair and sparkling eyes that lovingly caressed the two boys' forms. They sipped their drinks and sat in silence letting their eyes adjust to the smoky darkness and their ears adjust to the reverberating music.

"So who's our girl?" asked Hiei. Kurama nodded towards the jukebox.

"Her, with the silver hair."

Hiei looked. She was definitely a sexy girl. She had short silver hair cut into a charming pixie cut and she had an amazing figure, shown off to perfection in her skimpy barmaids outfit. "Okay, I admit it, you have good taste, Kurama."

"Thanks," said Kurama with a grin. As he spoke, the music changed and the dancing demons started to rub against each other in very sexually implying ways. One demon placed his hands on the silver-haired girl's body and started touching her. "Uh oh…" Kurama muttered.

"Don't get involved," Hiei said, just as the girl whipped out a bottle and beaned the guy on the head with it. He crumpled to the floor and she made her way back to the bar. Heads turned to watch her go by, most likely enjoying the sight of her ass swinging as she walked. As she walked past them, she leaned forward, giving Kurama a great view of her cleavage, and whispered something to him.

"What'd she say?" Hiei asked.

"She said to meet her out back in 15 minutes," Kurama replied.

"Good, I'm getting sick of this place," Hiei grumbled. They finished their drinks and made their way outside. She was waiting, a long black cloak wrapped around her body and flapping in the wind.

"Hello Kiri," Kurama said.

"Hi Kurama," she purred softly. "And you must be Hiei."

"Hn…" Hiei said, nodding slightly. She pressed a finger to her lips.

"Kurama didn't tell me that you were a hottie too…" she mused. Hiei's eyes narrowed and Kurama fought back a smirk.

"He's not the most loveable person around," he said lightly. She nodded.

"Not that it matters… come on, let's get going," she said, glancing at the horizon. The rays of the sun were just making their appearance.

"How much did you tell her?" Hiei hissed as she led the way back to her house.

"Not much… just our names, and that we were on the run from someone, so she understands the need for secrecy," Kurama replied.

"I'm not so sure she does…" Hiei sighed.

"Look, I'm not about to explain the truth to her," Kurama replied. "For one thing, we'll be gone in a month or so anyways, for another it puts her in two much danger knowing who we really are."

"Not to mention us, should she decide that the rewards would be greater if she told someone who her guests really were," Hiei muttered.

"I know this isn't exactly in your nature, but we're going to have to trust her. She's the best hope we've got of staying alive right now."

"Okay, okay, I'll do my best."

"Thank you. Are you going to check…?"

"Yes, fox, I'm going to check as soon as we get settled in and you and your lady friend retire to the bedroom so you can thank her for our quarters in the most appropriate way."

Kurama grinned at the turn of phrase. "Fair enough."

"Here we are!" Kiri whispered, unlocking the door to a small cottage. The boys followed her inside. The place was tiny, but it would suit their needs just fine. It had a small kitchen area, a living room area, a bathroom, and two bedrooms. She paused at the smaller one. "This will be your room, Hiei," she said. "Do either of you want a bath or something to eat?"

"No," Hiei said coldly, "I just want to sleep."

"Suit yourself. And you, Kurama?" she asked.

"I am fine as well."

"Okay, follow me then, our room is just here," she said, leading him through the door just across the hall from Hiei's. The door snapped shut behind them. Hiei stared at the door for a minute, then turned and entered his new room. He took off his cloak, boots, and shirt, laid them aside, and collapsed onto the bed. He locked his hands behind his head, settled against the pillow, and closed his eyes, allowing his Jagon to open. He paused for a moment, wishing he could postpone this moment, but eventually he would have to accept this new reality. He sighed, but allowed his Jagon to show him the destruction that had been wreaked on Ningenkai.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Ningenkai, specifically Tokyo, Japan, the place that Hiei had called home for the last year or so, was in ruins. Buildings were demolished, fires were burning everywhere, and human bodies littered the streets like garbage. The human race was more than likely totally extinct. Anyone left alive would be so traumatized by the Armageddon that had wiped out most of their race that they would be reduced to primitive form and it would be thousands of years before the human race ever returned to its former glory, if that's what you could call it. However, Hiei had never been particularly fond of humanity, so this didn't bother him at all. He was more concerned with the fates of the ones he knew.

He focused first on Yusuke. The heroic young teen had made up his mind to try to defend humanity, and had killed many demons, but in the end, they'd been too powerful for him. Hiei was no stranger to blood and gore, but Yusuke's mangled body was worse than most of what he had seen. There was barely anything left of the boy, and blood soaked the ground around him. The demons had ripped him apart in a frenzy.

Kuwabara was also dead. Like Yusuke, he had tried to fight the demons, and like Yusuke, he had paid the price. Hiei felt his stomach twist with guilt. It was most likely because of him and Kurama that the two boys had been killed in such a brutal way. But he would dwell on that some other time.

Hiei moved on as quickly as he could. Yusuke's mother was dead in her apartment, surrounded by broken bottles. She had obviously thrown several bottles at demons in an attempt to protect herself. Yusuke's girlfriend Keiko was also dead. So was Kuwabara's sister, Shizuru.

He moved on, shuddering slightly as he looked at all that death. He wasn't squeamish about death, but seeing so many people that he knew lying dead in such violent ways… it was hard, even for the most hardened demons.

He moved on. Kido, Kaito, Yanagisawa, Amanuma, Mitari, Hagari… all those humans that had once been his enemies, and at times his allies, all of them were dead too. They had fought back, but this had only increased the ferocity of the attacks. Hiei was beginning to hate the sight and smell of blood. He moved briefly to Kurama's house. He knew what the fate of Kurama's mother had been, but he also knew what Kurama would ask him…

Kurama's mother had also been ripped apart, just as the other humans had been. There was a lot less blood though… Kurama would be pleased to know that his mother hadn't suffered, thanks to his efforts…

One last place to look… no, two. He should look at Reikai, just to see what was happening up there. He did this at once… anything to put off looking in that last place…

He saw Botan race into Koenma's office. "Koenma-sama, have you any word of Yusuke and the others?" she asked frantically.

"Dead…" Koenma said simply. He was staring vaguely at the giant stacks of papers on his desk and the floor around his desk. So many dead humans… it would take weeks to finish processing all these poor souls.

"All of them?" she gasped.

"All of them… except Kurama and Hiei, I haven't had any word about them."

"So they might be alive?"

"If they are, they've either been captured and will soon be killed or they're in Makai on the run. Either way, they're beyond our help."

Botan buried her face in her hands. "I just can't believe it. Who knew that the demons had so much power?"

"If we'd known, we'd have done everything we could to prevent it… but you know, when Yusuke defeated Sensui, we were only delaying the inevitable," Koenma reminded her.

"I know, but… it's hard to realize that all of them are dead…"

"I know, Botan. Now you need to get back to work. There's many souls that need to be carried over," Koenma reminded her kindly. She nodded, wiping tears from her eyes. Koenma looked at her solemnly, then poofed into his teenage form and put his arms around Botan. She looked surprised for a moment, but then allowed the prince to comfort her.

Hiei sighed. Everything seemed to be business as usual for Reikai. It was disappointing that there would be no help from Koenma, but neither of the demons had expected any. Their ties to the other two worlds were nearly severed. One last place to look…

Genkai's temple had been ransacked just as thoroughly as any other place in Ningenkai. Demon bodies lay on the ground, destroyed by Genkai's attacks. Hiei flinched, feeling sickened by all the blood and carnage he had seen so far. At last, his Jagon showed him the innermost part of the temple. There were several more dead demons laying around, and against the wall lay the bodies of Genkai and Yukina.

Both bodies had been mutilated, as had all the others. Hiei winced, feeling a twinge of guilt. He should have stayed, should have protected his sister…

At least she hadn't suffered much. The energy signature that hung over what was left of Genkai's and Yukina's bodies was that of Genkai herself. Unbidden, his Jagon was able to show him their deaths.

Genkai collapsed onto the ground next to Yukina. She was badly wounded by the demon's attacks and her energy was drained significantly. Yukina knelt next to her, trying to heal her wounds.

"Yukina, why are you still here? You should have fled," Genkai groaned.

"I couldn't leave you," Yukina said. "And I can't leave without finding my brother, I just want to see if he's okay!" she whimpered. Hiei flinched, wondering again if he should have told her…

"Yukina… you've already met your brother…" Genkai murmured.

"What? But… why didn't he ever tell me…?" Yukina gasped.

"It's not his fault… he had his own reasons…" Genkai gasped in pain. "Yukina, we're out of time. The demons are everywhere."

"Genkai, please! Tell me my brother's name!" Yukina cried frantically.

Genkai smiled sadly. A group of ten demons raced into the room and let out cries of triumph upon spotting their prey. Genkai gathered all the energy she could muster into her hands.

"Genkai, please!" Yukina cried again. Genkai turned to look at her.

"His name is Hiei," she said simply, then suddenly turned her hands so that instead of having the ball of energy facing her foes, it was not facing herself and Yukina.

"Hiei…" Yukina whispered. "Oh, Hiei, I'm so glad I found you…"

Genkai fired her ball of energy and the young demoness and the old woman collapsed, dead before the demons could touch them. The demons let out screams of rage and hurled themselves at the bodies.

Hiei's eyes snapped open, unable to watch Yukina's body being desecrated. Breathing hard, he clenched the sheets of his bed, trying desperately to remain calm. Part of him cursed Kurama for pressuring him to make sure that the ones they knew were really dead, but part of his felt a strange cathartic sense of relief. The worst was surely over, now that he had seen for his own eyes what had happened. He rolled onto his side and allowed his eyes to close and he clutched his pillow. As sleep claimed him, a single tear rolled down his cheek and turned into a tear gem, which landed next to his face.

Kurama rolled over to look at the girl sleeping beside him. It surprised him that he had no problems with taking advantage of her hospitality as he was doing. It also surprised him that he had so enjoyed the sensations of having sex with a beautiful girl. Youko had often described the pleasure of sex, but Kurama had never really believed that it could be so amazing until his own encounter last night. She was an amazing girl.

'Damn, I am so lucky…' Kurama thought as he gazed at her sleeping form. As though she felt his gaze on her, she opened one eye tiredly. It was lavender, something he hadn't noticed the previous day.

"Good morning… or is it afternoon?" she asked him.

"Afternoon, I think," Kurama said, raising himself up on his elbow. The afternoon sun fell through the window, creating a pleasing affect of shadow and light on his bare chest. Kiri drew him closer to her and kissed him passionately. Kurama returned the kiss affectionately. She slid out of the bed and slipped on a skirt and a loose silk shirt.

"I'll make something to eat for us… and Hiei too, he's probably hungry," she said.

"Thanks," he said, sliding out of bed and reaching for his clothes. She smiled and walked out towards the kitchen. There, she ran into Hiei as he walked out with a lunch of his own. She shrieked in surprise.

In the bedroom, Kurama, who had just finished dressing, jumped up. He had made a resolution before he had fallen asleep earlier. He had resolved that the violence that he knew would be pursuing him and Hiei would not touch her, and now it sounded as though an assassin squad was murdering her in her kitchen. He flew out the bedroom door and came to a halt in the middle of the living room area.

Kiri had collapsed onto a chair, panting. Hiei stood there with a quizzical look on his face.

"You scared me!" Kiri exclaimed, looking up the fire demon.

"Really? I hadn't noticed," he said dryly. She stood up and pushed past him, marching into the kitchen. Hiei lifted his eyebrows, then turned to Kurama. "She's kinda jumpy…" he said.

"Well, she was probably just surprised is all," Kurama said calmly. "Did you check Ningenkai?" The "like I asked you to" was left unspoken.

"Yes, I did," he said, keeping his face blank and his voice level.

"And?"

"They're dead, just like I told you they'd be."

"Hiei!" Kurama exclaimed. He suddenly grabbed the fire demon's shoulders and crouched so that he could look into Hiei's eyes. "Hiei, please, stop playing games with me. You know what I want to know!"

Hiei sighed. "You want to know what they did to your mother's body?"

"Yes!" Kurama said, exasperation leaking from his voice.

"I don't see how it matters," Hiei said calmly. "She was dead when the demons found her, you made sure of that."


End file.
